Curiosity is one of our defining characteristics – we are shaped by what we seek and find on our curiosity radar. Science, philosophy, literature and all such monuments of human intelligence began in curiosity.

The curiosity radar is present not just in human beings but also in animals. For example, dogs sniff and search wherever they are placed. However, the curiosity radar of animals searches at a much lower level than that of humans. Animals ask practical questions of the how type: “How can I continue to exist – how can I get food, sleep, sex and shelter?” We alone can ask philosophical questions of the why type: “Why does anything exist at all?” and “Why do I exist?”

Unfortunately, our curiosity radar usually searches at a low animal level due to the inner force of our worldly desires and the outer influence of the materialistic culture. If we use our intelligence to raise our radar and start asking the why questions, we are guided by divine will to founts of spiritual wisdom such as the Bhagavad-gita. Thus, through his words, Krishna enters our curiosity radar.

The Bhagavad-gita points to this progression when it (07.16) outlines the four kinds of people who come to Krishna – the distressed, the financially needy, the inquisitive and the knowledgeable. Our initial curiosity that inspires us to know Krishna places us among the inquisitive. Our subsequent curiosity that inspires us to love him, understanding that such love is the purpose and perfection of existence, places us among the knowledgeable.

When we animate our curiosity about Krishna with devotion, he reveals himself as an eternally, ever-increasingly attractive person – delightfully different from all other curiosity objects that lose their charm with the passage of time. Indeed, Krishna’s continuous self-revelation transforms life into an exciting adventure in endless love.

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 07 Text 16

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